To the Editor: Dams provide many public benefits

Thursday

Apr 4, 2013 at 5:30 PMApr 4, 2013 at 5:34 PM

Some people want to tear down the Granite Falls Dam. Then also, let’s tear down the Hoover Dam, the Grand Coulee Dam, the big dams on the Missouri River, the Tennessee Valley Authority dams on the Tennessee River as well. Let all the water go rushing down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. The great 1927 Mississippi River flood inundated thousands of square miles of land and caused billions of dollars damage. It’s time to have another flood like that again. Dams and their reservoirs provide many benefits to the people; recreation, flood control, erosion control, irrigation, ground water replenishment, wildlife benefits, and power generation. Water is a wonderful resource and it should be stored and used locally. Obviously, Minnesota will never have the large dams and reservoirs that some parts of the country have, but a series of small dams and reservoirs on the different rivers in the state would have a lot of benefits to the people. Let’s save our dam!

Merlin Buchholz Granite Falls

Some people want to tear down the Granite Falls Dam. Then also, let’s tear down the Hoover Dam, the Grand Coulee Dam, the big dams on the Missouri River, the Tennessee Valley Authority dams on the Tennessee River as well. Let all the water go rushing down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. The great 1927 Mississippi River flood inundated thousands of square miles of land and caused billions of dollars damage. It’s time to have another flood like that again. Dams and their reservoirs provide many benefits to the people; recreation, flood control, erosion control, irrigation, ground water replenishment, wildlife benefits, and power generation. Water is a wonderful resource and it should be stored and used locally. Obviously, Minnesota will never have the large dams and reservoirs that some parts of the country have, but a series of small dams and reservoirs on the different rivers in the state would have a lot of benefits to the people. Let’s save our dam!

Merlin Buchholz Granite Falls

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